Pin a comment instead of updating issue descriptions with the final proposal
Problem to solve
In our typical GitLab workflow, the issue description is not only the place where the issue is being described. We also update it later on with the solution or multiple proposals. This causes a couple of problems:
- We rewrite history. The issue description is the start of a discussion, it should gives the reader insight into how that discussion got started.
- My data is not my data anymore. If I edit the description of an issue that somebody else posted, the description still has his name at the top. It shows an additional "Edited by" at the bottom, but there is no way for the user to understand which part has been done by whom, also leading to confusion who to approach for questions.
- Duplication of data. Very often the final proposal is first being posted and discussed in a single comment. Having to update the description with the same information causes extra time, and it's also not easy to find the same comment in the rest of the discussion to see the surrounding conversation.
- Community contributors. I'm often times very hesitant to update the description that somebody else posted, especially when they are not used to our workflow. Changing or even entirely deleting something somebody else posted is something that should not happen in an online discussion, except for cases of abuse / harassment.
Proposal
A first idea is to introduce a pinned comment. Any comment or reply can be pinned to the top of the discussion, showing up both directly underneath the issue description as well as at its usual place in the conversation.
This solves the four previously mentioned problems. We keep the history of the discussion intact, we do not change what somebody else posted and we also have a faster way of highlighting the final proposal without having to rewrite or copy/paste.
There are certain details that will need some UX work, e.g. how to jump from the pinned comment at the top right to its context and the surrounding discussion, but these smaller aspects are certainly solvable.